Wrist exerciser

ABSTRACT

An exerciser to be used for reinforcing wrist muscles, which comprises a pair of spaced grips to be grasped by left and right hands, a pair of rod members for connecting at the prescribed constant interspace and supporting the grips in a manner such that they can freely turn about their longitudinal axis, and springs for exerting resilient resistance and restoring force upon turning of the grips.

United States Patent 11 1 Tanimoto 1 July 17, 1973 [22] Filed:

1 WRIST EXERCISER [76] Inventor: Kametaro Tanim0t0,Horinouchi 3-6-8, Suginamiku, Tokyo, Japan Feb. 24, 1972 121 Appl. No.2 229,094

[52] US. Cl 272/67, 272/83 R, 272/83 A [51] Int. Cl A63b 21/32 [58] Field of Search 272/67, 68, 83 R, 272/83 A; 273/8l.4; 73/379, 380, 381

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,132,861 5/1964 Horney 272/68 668,473 2 1901 Yount 272/68 2,818,253 12 1957 ZltO 272 68 3,410,017 11 1968 .Wilson 273/814 x 2,382,304 8/1945 FOliZZ Ct al. 273 814 ux Ferdinand 272/67 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 29,331 7/1907 Austria 272/67 24,091 9/1910 Great Britain 272/68 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-R. T. Stouffer Attorney-George B. Oujevolk [57] ABSTRACT An exerciser to be used for reinforcing wrist muscles, which comprises a pair of spaced grips to be grasped by left and right hands, a pair of rod members for connecting at the prescribed constant interspace and supporting the grips in a manner such that they can freely turn about their longitudinal axis, and. springs for exerting resilient resistance and restoring force upon turning of the grips.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Pmmnnwu 3.746.336

SHEET 2 OF 2 WRIST EXERCISER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION My invention generally concerns a physical training apparatus and, more particularly, an apparatus suitable for use in reinforcing the muscular strength of wrists.

It is generally accepted that in various sports games the part played by a wrist or wrists of a player is very important, and it is well known that to have a wrist strength which is very powerful is highly advantageous in the cases of, for example, boxing, swimming, tennis, golf, baseball and so forth.

Currently, for muscular training of wrists various exercisers are utilized, such as iron dumbbells, spring expanders and so forth. However, such training methods which rely on use of those conventional exercisers are not necessarily satisfactory. For instance, these methods require arelatively broad space in which to practice same. Further, to practice these methods is likely to harden wrist muscles rather than impart to'them flexible or resilient strength. 1

The principal object of my invention is therefore to provide a wrist exerciser capable of imparting a resilient reinforcement to the user's wrist muscles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wrist reinforcing exerciser of a simple and compact structure, of which use can be made at any time in a very limited space to achieve the expected results.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a wrist reinforcing exerciser which can be manufactured without complexity and at a low cost, and can therefore have wide sales.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, appended claims and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partially cut away, showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. IA is a schematic plan view, showing a variation in which another tension springs illustrated in FIG. 1 are operably associated tension springs stopper means for restricting extension of the springs;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are plan views illustrative of manners in which the apparatus of the invention is used;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention, in which the distance between the pair of spaced grips shown in FIG. 1, accordingly the spring force of tension springs, is made adjustable;

FIG. 4 shows a partial sectional view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a partially cut away elevational view, showing a still aother embodiment of the invention, in which in substitution for the tension used in the embodiment of FIG. 1 or FIG. 3 torsion springs housed within grips are employed.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS the left and right grips in a manner such that they can freely turn about their longitudinal axis, and tension springs 15 and 16 for exerting resilient resistance and restoring force upon turning of grips.

Grips 11 and 12 are of substantially the same struc ture, and therefore to make an explanation of only the grip 11, this member is composed of an outer casing 21 of a material having high strength and friction resistance, such as rubber, plastics or the like, and an inner metal sleeve or tube 22, which is fixed to the outer casing. This casing 21 can be formed with a wavey portion for positioning fingers on, as indicated at 21a in FIG. 1. Further, in order to prevent slipping of fingers it may be devised to make the outer surface of the casing a knurled surface. At each end the grip 11 has an anchoring block 23 comprising integral main body 24 and extended body 26, the former body being inserted into the sleeve 22 and immovably secured thereto by, for example, a screw 25, and the latter being for anchoring thereto an end of the spring 15 or 16, The main body 24 has a central bore along its longitudinal axis for the purposes to be described later. In connection with screws 25, preferably these should be disposed at such portions of grips where fingers or palms of the user are not susceptive of injury upon touch.

The grip connecting and supporting rods 13 and I4 similarly have an identical structure, and each comprises a relatively long rectilinear portion 31 and hooked end portions 32 bent in the same direction. Each hooked portion has a shouder 33 formed near the end of the rectilinear portion and a successive reduced portion 34, which is loosely and rotatably received within the aforementioned central bore of the main body 24 of the block 23 and has a fastening ring 35 press-fitted at its lower end and bearing against the lower end surface of the body 24. By this fastening structure, coming out of the hooked portion 32 from the block 23 can completely be checked. Alternatively, it may be designed to employ such a structure which utilizes a split pin (not shown), which is inserted through the reduced portion 34, near the end thereof. Further, as hereinafter mentioned in connection with the illustration in FIG. 4, it may be devised to make threadably engageable the central bore of the block 23 and the reduced portion 34 of the rod 13 by suitably threading the inner wall of the bore and correspondingly threading the outer periphery of the reduced portion.

In using the wrist reinforcing exerciser of the foregoing structure of the present invention, for example the grip 11 will be immovably held with the left hand as shown in FIG.. 2A, and the right hand wrist is turned against the spring force of springs 15 and 16, in the direction of an arrow Am B, or alternately in the two directions. Similarly, the right hand grip 12 will be fixed for training the left hand wrist. It is also feasible to do training of both wrists at the same time, and for this the wrists will be turned in mutually opposing directions as illustrated in FIG. 28. It will be readily recognized that there are various other manners in which the wrist exerciser of the invention is used. Regardless of any specific training method, if they are caused to repeat tension and relief through repeated bending and stretching of the wrist with the use of the exerciser of the invention, the wrist muscles will be reinforced without fail.

If the grip is turned more than l with respect to its original stationary position due to a fact that the force of springs and 16 is insufficient or that the specific user has too strong a wrist power in comparison to the spring force, it is likely that such end portions of the springs which have undergone an extreme expansion become wound about the grips or hooked portions 32 to a result that the springs cannot restore their original condition; if the expansion of springs is not to the utmost extend but considerably great, then an unexpected injury will be caused to the user by abrupt contraction of the springs.

In order to keep such accidents from occuring, the variation shown in FIG. 1A of the structure of FIG. I has a spring 150 having an associated inner stopper means. The illustrated stopper means is composed of two hairpin elements 17 mutually entwined about their points of bend and firmly secured to the edges of the spring 15a at their free ends which are outwardly turned. As soon as said points of bend of pinsv 17 become completely engaged so that the pins in combination cannot undergo any further elongation, expansion of the spring is restricted. Preferably, the pair of haripin elements should have a total length almost equivalent to the length of the rectilinear portion 31 of the rod 13, namely, the central distance between grips 11 and 12. With reference to FIG. 1A it will be appreciated that the spring 15a (and 16a not shown) is slightly tapered toward each end so as to accommodate the outwardly turned ends of the hairpins 17 within the maximum diametral space of the spring.

In FIG. 3, there is illustrated another embodiment of the present invention, and in this embodiment the distance between two grips 11a and 12a, accordingly the degree of spring tension, is adjustable. Also, grips of this embodiment are made of wood having a polygonal configuration in section and, more preferably, a sectional configuration correspoding to a quadrangle with its each comer chamfered. The grip connecting rod 13 is provided with a turnbuckle 36 at its almost middle.

' sion of spring 15 (or 16, not shown), whereby relative to the specific wrist strength a suitable spring tension value can be selected. Further, with reference to FIG. 4 it will be readily observed that the inner periphery of the block 23a is threaded and that the rod 13 correspondingly is formed with a threaded portion 34a near the end of its hooked portion, as mentioned hereinbefore.

FIG. 5 shows a still another modification of the wrist exerciser of the invention, in which the spring means for exerting resilient resistance upon turning of grips comprise torsion springs housed within the grips. ln greater detail, the hooked portion 32 of the connecting rod 13 extends into the grip through a central portion of a supporting plate member 41 attached to each end surface of the grip. The supporting plate 41 is formed at its back with a protrusion 42 for securing thereto one end of a torsion spring 44. Also, near the lower end of the reduced portion 34 of the hooked portion 32, a protrusion 43 is provided for securing thereto the other end of the spring 44. Thus, in this modification those tension springs which are provided in the previously mentioned embodiments are replaced by torsion springs housed within the grips, whereby the entire structure of the wrist exerciser can present an improved appearance.

Whereas I have described and illustrated specific embodiments of the invention, the embodiments described in conjunction with several figures can be readily modified, for example, by mutually exchanging or combining the various components, and therefore the scope of my invention should not be understood to be limited to only those forms as specifically disclosed and illustrated in the foregoing specification and accompanying drawings but is to be defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In a wrist reinforcing exerciser having a pair of grips to be grasped by left and right hands, means for connecting at the prescribed interspace and supporting said grips in a manner such that they can freely turn about their longitudinal axis, and spring means for ex erting resilient resistance and restoring force upon turning of the grip, said spring means being tension springs provided between the corresponding ends of the pair of grips and extensible upon turn of the grip, the improvement therein in which each of said grips has 'an anchoring block fixed thereto at least at one end thereof, each end of said tension springs is anchored to an extended portion of said anchoring block and said grip connecting and supporting means comprise a rectilinear portion and bent end portions, said bent end portions being received wtthin central bores in said anchoring blocks in a manner such that they can freely turn within said centrll bores but not removable from the bores.

2. A wrist reinforcing exerciser comprising:

a. a pair of grips to be grasped by left and right hands,

each of said grips havingat each end theeof an anchoringblock, said block comprising a main body portion fixed to the associated grip end and provided with a central bore, and an extended portion laterally protruding from said main body toward another grip;

b. a pair of rods for connecting at the prescribed interspace and supporting said grips, each of said rods comprising a rectilinear portion and bent end portions, each bend end portion being received within said central bore in said main body of said anchoring block in a manner such that each bent end portion can freely turn within said bore but not removable from the bore; and,

. a pair of tension springs positioned between corresponding ends of each of said grips and anchored at their ends to the respective extended portions of said anchoring block so that said springs can be extended upon turning of said grips and exert resilient resistance and restoring force to the grips. 

1. In a wrist reinforcing exerciser having a pair of grips to be grasped by left and right hands, means for connecting at the prescribed interspace and supporting said grips in a manner such that they can freelY turn about their longitudinal axis, and spring means for exerting resilient resistance and restoring force upon turning of the grip, said spring means being tension springs provided between the corresponding ends of the pair of grips and extensible upon turn of the grip, the improvement therein in which each of said grips has an anchoring block fixed thereto at least at one end thereof, each end of said tension springs is anchored to an extended portion of said anchoring block and said grip connecting and supporting means comprise a rectilinear portion and bent end portions, said bent end portions being received wtthin central bores in said anchoring blocks in a manner such that they can freely turn within said centr1l bores but not removable from the bores.
 2. A wrist reinforcing exerciser comprising: a. a pair of grips to be grasped by left and right hands, each of said grips having at each end theeof an anchoring block, said block comprising a main body portion fixed to the associated grip end and provided with a central bore, and an extended portion laterally protruding from said main body toward another grip; b. a pair of rods for connecting at the prescribed interspace and supporting said grips, each of said rods comprising a rectilinear portion and bent end portions, each bend end portion being received within said central bore in said main body of said anchoring block in a manner such that each bent end portion can freely turn within said bore but not removable from the bore; and, c. a pair of tension springs positioned between corresponding ends of each of said grips and anchored at their ends to the respective extended portions of said anchoring block so that said springs can be extended upon turning of said grips and exert resilient resistance and restoring force to the grips. 